Apparatus for handling wire



Oct. 20, 1936.

F. A. WHITEHEAD ET! AL APPARATUS FOR HANDLING WIRE Filed Jan. 9, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 7, 1953 M; A. KISE PROCESS FOR PREPARING A FERTILIZER CONTAINING WATER-INSOLUBLE NITROGEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 14, 1950 NQE vw Sac:

MODRZFFZMU INVENTOR.

M EARL A. RISE BY ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 20, 1936 APPARATUS FOR, HANDLING WIRE Frederick A. Whitehead. Glassport, and Frank L.

Antisell, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Copperweld Steel Company, Glassport, 2a., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 9, 1933, Serial No. 650,914

11 Claims.

This invention relates generally to apparatus for handling wire, particularly high carbon or other hard wire of relatively large diameters, say in excess of of an inch.

In many operations involving the fabrication or treatment of wire products, it is necessary to feed wire from a reel to a fabricating machine or to pass it in continuous lengths through a heat treating furnace or to a rolling mill. The present invention is applicable to any of these processes as well as other processes, but is particularly described herein as used for supplying 'and straightening wire fed from a reel to a series of cleaning and electrolytic baths by means of which the wire is coated with metal by electrodepositing the metal from solution. The general process of electrodepositing metal on a wire or other core and the apparatus therefor are described in an application of Frank L. Antisell, Serial No. 649,532, filed December 30, 1932.

It is desirable in many cases to feed a smooth or polished wire under tension from a reel and to straighten it before delivering it to the fabricating machine or treating medium. A series of hardwood blocks set in multiple and held in resilient contact with the wire and lubricated with soap water or other lubricating medium has been used. In other cases, tension has been placed on the wire by simply applying a friction brake on the reel spindle, and an ordinary rotary straightener or several gangs of sheaves placed at right angles to each other have been used for straightening the wire. None of these devices has proved entirely satisfactory for straightening the wire to the desired degree without marring it.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the present preferred embodiment of our invention,

Figure l is a diagrammatic plan view of a series of cleaning and electrolytic baths illustrating the means for straightening and feeding wire thereto from a reel and for again winding up the wire after having passed through the baths;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the feeding and straightening device;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional viewtaken on the line IV-IV of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a section on the line V-V of Figure 2 illustrating the means for mounting the pay-reel.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the wire W to be coated with metal is fed from a pay-reel 2 through a series of trough-like containers 3, 4, 5, 6, l, 8 and 9, after which it is wound on a take-up reel Ill. Containers 3, 4 and 5 contain, respectively, an alkaline solution, sulphuric acid, and nitric acid for the purpose of cleaning the wire. Container 6 contains a nickel solution and the containers 1, 8 and 9 contain copper solutions. The construction of the containers, the various solutions with which they are supplied, and the electrical connections used for cleaning the wire and depositing metal thereon from solution are described more particularly in the Antisell application above referred to.

The pay-reel 2 is rotatably mounted in a frame il so that as the reel rotates about its axis the wire unwinds from the reel. The frame is sup ported at its ends by trunnions i2 mounted in bearings l3 so that the frame may rotate about its longitudinal axis. The frame is rotated by a motor i4 and gearing i5 secured to one of the trunnions i2. The take-up reel i0 is mounted in a frame i8 which is similar to frame ii and is rotated about its longitudinal axis by means of a motor i1 and gearing i8. A motor i9 mounted on the frame l6 and rotatable therewith rotates the take-up reel [0 about its axis in order to positively pull the wire through the baths. By these means the wire is rotated about its axis while passing through the containers.

As shown in Figure 5, the reel 2 is provided with hubs which are secured in place by rods 2i. The hubs are supported by cones 22 which are internally threaded for reception of screws 23. The cones are slidable within housings 24 secured to the frame and are adjusted by rotation of the hand wheels 25. With this construction it is an easy matter to remove an empty reel from the frame and insert a full reel. Furthermore, by turning the hand wheels in the proper direction the pressure of the cones 22 on the hubs 20 may be increased in order to act as a brake for the payreel, thereby maintaining the wire under the desired tension.

The wire, after leaving the pay-reel 2, passes between guide rollers 26 and 21 and is then wound around a snubbing wheel 28 in a direction the reverse of that in which it was wound around the reel 2. The reverse winding of the wire around the pay-reel and snubbing wheel acts to straighten out the wire before it is fed to the baths.

Means is provided for delivering the wire from the snubbing wheel so that it will be in alinement with the guide rollers 29. For this purpose, a wobbler ring 30 fits around the rim 3! of the snubbing wheel 28. The wobbler ring is provided I with a notch 32 into which flts a stud 33 which is screwed into the rim 3|. There is, a loose fit between the ring 30 and the rim 3| and between the notch 32 and the stud 33. As the wheel 28 rotates, the wobbler ring 30 is carried with it due to the notch-and-stud connection 32, 33. The ring is caused to wobble by a wedge 34 and a guide 35 secured to the frame II and located at opposite sides of the wheel. The guide 35 holds the wobbler ring close to the flange 36 at one side of the snubbing wheel, and the wedge 34 spreads the ring away from the flange at the other side of the wheel. As the wobbler ring 30 rotates around with the snubbing wheel 28, it is forced over from the flange 36 by the wedge 34 a distance at least equal to the diameter of the wire. The ring 30 pushes the wire away fromthe flange 36 so as to provide space for the seating of. the incoming strand. The wraps of wire around the snubbing wheel will not slide back to their original positions when the wobbler ring is forced back to the flange 36 by the guide 35 since the friction of the wire around the snubbing wheel maintains it in a position so as to provide space for the incoming strand. This arrangement also delivers the wire from.the' snubbing wheel in alinement with the guide rolls 29.

As has been stated previously, the wire is fed through'the baths under high tension. This tension is accomplished by driving the wind-up reel l0 and by employing a braking means either on the pay-reel or the snubbing wheel, or preferably on both. In Figure 4, the braking means for the snubbing wheel is illustrated. The brake comprises blocks 40 which press against the web 4| of the snubbing wheel. Each of. the blocks is made up of a layer 42 of brake lining, a layer 43 of wood, and a layer 44 of rubber. The rubber layer is secured to a metal plate 45 into which is threaded a sleeve 48. Each of the sleeves is supported by a bearing 41 secured by bolts 48 to the frame II. The brake blocks are pressed against the web of the snubbing wheel by turning screws 49 having heads 50 which fit into the sleeves 46. The brake provides any desired amount of back tension on the wire.

The wire being fed from the pay-reel 2 to the snubbing wheel 28 may also be maintained under high tension by providing braking means for the pay-reel. In the form shown in Figure 5, the cones 22 may be pressed against the hubs 20 by turning the hand wheels 25. This acts in the nature of a brake which prevents the pay-reel from turning too freely and provides a means whereby the wire between the pay-reel and the snubbing wheel may be maintained under tension. If desired, a brake of the type shown in Figure 4, or other type of brake, may be applied to the payreel as well as to the snubbing wheel.

The wire which is unwound from the pay-reel 2 is not straight, but has a set in it due to the fact that it has been wound around the reel. In order to straighten the wire and place it under suflicient tension, it is wound around the snubbing wheel 23 in a reverse direction to that in which it was wound on the pay-reel. This eliminates the set which was imparted to the wire due to its winding about the pay-reel and also imparts a slight set or bend to the wire in the opposite direction from which it was bent as it was delivered from the pay-reel. This slight set or bend is eliminated by passing the wire over rollers 29 which are so arranged as to again slightly reverse siderable pull is exerted on the wire by the takeup reel III. This winding of the wire around the snubbing wheel eliminates any tendency to scratch or mar the wire which would be present if resort was had to stationary blocks or the like contacting with the wire. The snubbing wheel, in addition to serving as a means for placing the wire under tension, also serves to straighten out the wire since the wire is wound around the snubbing wheel in a direction reverse to that in which it was wound around the pay-reel. The pay-reel and the snubbing wheel, particularly when used in conjunction with the rollers 29, provide a means for feeding wire from a reel and delivering a straight wire under high tension without marring the wire.

We have illustrated and described the present preferred embodiment of our invention and the manner of practicing it. It will be understood, however, that the invention may be otherwise embodied or practiced within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for feeding wire, a frame rotatable about its longitudinal axis, a pay-reel mounted in the frame and rotatable about an axis which is at substantially a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the frame, and a snubbing wheeel mounted in said frame and about which the wire may be wound in a direction opposite to that in which it is wound about the pay-reel.

2. In apparatus for electrodepositing metal from solution on a wire passed therethrough, a frame rotatable about its longitudinal axis, a pay-reel mounted in the frame and rotatable about an axis which is at substantially a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the frame, and a snubbing wheel mounted in said frame and about which the wire may be wound in a direction opposite to that in which it is wound about the pay-reel.

3. In apparatus for feeding and straightening V wire, a pay-reel on which the wire to be fed is wound, a snubbing wheel about which the wire may be wound in a direction opposite to that in which it is wound about the pay-reel, a brake for the snubbing wheel, and means for unwinding the wire from the pay-reel, said pay-reel and snubbing wheel being rotatable in substantially parallel planes.

4. In apparatus for feeding and straightening wire, a pay-reel on which the wire to be fed is wound, a snubbing wheel about which the wire may be wound in a direction opposite to that in which it is wound about the pay-reel, brakes for the snubbing wheel and pay-reel, and means for unwinding the wire from the pay-reel, said payreel and snubbing wheel being rotatable in substantially parallel planes.

5. In apparatus for feeding and straightening wire, a frame, a pay-reel rotatable in the frame,

a snubbing wheel rotatable in the frame, and a I aoamoe and a series of rollers mounted in the frame for straightening and guiding the wire unwound from the snubbingv wheel.

7. In apparatus for feeding and straightening wire, a frame rotatable about its longitudinal axis, a pay-reel and a snubbing wheel mounted in the frame and rotatable about axes which'are substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the frame, a brake for the snubbing' wheel, and a series of rollers mounted in theirame for straightening and guiding the wire unwound from the snubbing wheel, v

8. In apparatus for feeding wire, a frame rotatable about its longitudinal axis, a pay-reel mounted in the frame and rotatable about an axis which is at substantially a right angle to the iongitudinal axis of the frame, and asnubbing wheel mounted in said frame and about which the wire may be wound in a direction opposite to that in which it is wound-about the pay-reel, said payreel and snubbing wheel being rotatable in substantially parallel planes.

9. In apparatus for feeding and straightening wire, a pay-reel on which the wire to be feed is wound, a. snubbing wheel aut which the wire may be wound, and a series of rollers positioned to receive the wire after it has been unwound from the snubbing wheel, said rollers being arranged so as to counteract the set in the wire imparted thereto by the snubbing wheel.

10. In apparatus for feeding and straightening wire, a pay-reel on which the wire to be fed is wound, a snubbing wheel about which the wire may be wound, and a series of closely spaced roll ers of smaller diameter than the snubbing wheel positioned to receive the wire after it has been unwound from the snubbing wheel, saidrollers being arranged so as to counteract the set in the wire imparted thereto by' the snubbing wheel;

11. A pay-reel on which the wire to be fed is wound, a snubbing wheel about which the wire may be wound, and a series of closely spaced rollers of smaller diameter than the snubbing wheel positioned to receive the wire after it has been unwound from the snubbing wheel, said rollers being arranged substantially in an are so as to counteract the set in the wire imparted thereto by thesnubbing wheel.

FREDERICK A. 1 A L. ANTISELL. 

